1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to devices that produce a waterfall effect at the side of a swimming pool or other landscaping feature such as an artificial rocky cliff. More particularly, it relates to a device that spreads water laterally into a thin sheet to simulate a natural waterfall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S Pat. No. 4,881,280 to Lesikar, entitled "Waterfall Producing Unit For Use In Swimming Pools," shows a device that produces a very smooth waterfall. It employs a deep chamber that receives water from the swimming pool pump, a throat that extends from the deep chamber to the water outlet, a plurality of baffle walls in the throat, and a weir between the deep chamber and the throat. All of these features are supplied to suppress the turbulence of the water exiting the throat to create the simulated waterfall. More specifically, the depth of the deep chamber allows the turbulent incoming water to settle down before it enters the throat of the device. Moreover, the weir that separates the deep chamber from the throat ensures that only a thin layer of water can enter the throat at any one time, and the baffle walls in the throat suppress any residual splashing that may occur therein. The result is a very stable sheet of water that flows from the throat.
In a second embodiment of the Lesikar device, the deep chamber is eliminated and a series of baffle walls is relied upon to suppress splashing and to produce an even film of water. That embodiment has not been seen in commercial models, but it is believed that its arrangement of parts would produce a waterfall having more turbulence than the deep chamber embodiment.
A device that delivers a simulated waterfall to a bathtub is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,328 to Delepine. However, unlike the Lesikar device, it relies upon two laterally spaced apart sources of water to achieve the lateral spread of water required in a simulated waterfall.
The problem with deep well waterfall-simulating devices of the type first invented by Lesikar is that they must be installed at the time the pool is built because they are too large for retrofit applications. Moreover, such devices are mechanically complex and require substantial assembly time. The art would be advanced if a simple-in-structure and therefore easy to manufacture waterfall creating device could be invented. The ideal device would also have a low profile so that it could be retrofit into existing pools.
Another problem in the swimming pool industry relating to waterfalls is the difficulty of constructing rock waterfalls that will flow as desired down a preselected pathway. The seemingly simple construction task of stacking rocks in a mound and directing water over a preselected side thereof to create a waterfall is anything but simple. Since water finds the path of least resistance, it flows downwardly in unexpected ways, often flowing in a reverse manner such that the resulting waterfall cannot be seen by an observer stationed in front of the rock pile. It often takes years of experience before a waterfall builder can stack the rocks just right to force the water to follow a desired path of travel.
Thus, there is a need in the industry for a structure that could ease the task of rock waterfall construction. The ideal innovation would enable inexperienced workers to build successful waterfalls without going through a time-consuming trial and error procedure.
However, when the teachings and suggestions of the prior art are considered as a whole, it is clear that the invention of the ideal devices needed to fulfill the extant needs would not have been obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art at the time the invention disclosed hereinafter was made.